Three years in...

On September 2nd Alex and I celebrated our third year of marriage.  I can't believe how quickly it has gone by and how so in love I am:)  I couldn't be more blessed to have this amazing man by my side!

People always ask us if we do anything for our anniversary and well, the answer is no.  We have in the past gone out to eat, but early on in our engagement we committed to NO gift-giving.  Sounds harsh, but really we want our marriage, birthdays, etc. to be built on moments spent together, not on material things that fade away.  Maybe it was the wallet I gave Alex on our first Christmas while dating that changed things for us...a beautiful brown Coach wallet, that was met with..."a wallet is kind of a personal thing" you see I had bought the wrong style, who knew!  (btw he still carries it:))

Our tradition of not giving gifts has actually benefitted us because we save money...and with that money we can afford to travel or experience small things together, something we love to do...like the time Alex planned out my birthday to all the places I love to go, skiing for his birthday, or dinner in Scotland celebrating our 3 years of marriage.  These experiences have no value, they're priceless.

As we start year 4, I'm praying that we would grow into our roles and live out our vows!

I, Andrea (Alex) take you to be my husband (wife).

I promise before God and these witnesses to love and respect you always (love and cherish).  I have seen your love for God and I am confident that you will be a loving spiritual leader (loving wife).  As God has called me, I will be the helper (spiritual leader) in our marriage.  I promise to keep Christ first in my life, and will rely on Him to teach and guide me, so that I may fully become the wife (husband) you deserve as we serve God together.

I promise to be faithful to you and never leave you.  I promise to respect and submit to your leadership (seek to know and understand you and be sensitive to your needs).  I desire what is best for us and I will trust your judgement inleading me as God leads you (lead you lovingly as God leads me).  I promise to provide you with an abundance of encouragement and to communicate openly and honestly with you.  I will listen when you speak and keep what I hear.  I will trust you and honor you (love you and honor you), I will follow you (I will value you).  I will be your helper (leader) and your most trusted friend.

I will always be there for you and I promise to make our home a place of rest and refuge for you (demonstrate my love for you in ways you understand).  I love you.

Honey, I still love you, even more than ever.

My Grandma Ruth

"The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart; because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (romans 10:8)

This is my grandma Ruth, the mother of my mother.

Believer in Jesus, wife, mother, sister, and daughter.

This was at Easter, just five short months ago.

She lived 91 years, over 60 of them married Now she's with Jesus and the angels. I'm going to miss you. Last time I visited with her, a mere month ago we reminisced: her childhood on the farm (just like Laura Ingalls), her stint as a one-room school house teacher, dating my Grandpa, their wedding, serving our country as Rosie Riveter in the factory, her children, her cookies (yum!)... we remember her youth, her womanhood, her. We love you.

Our Vacation in WI

We started off our vacation with a very special trip to Kohler, WI for some golf and relaxation with my dad and step-mom. Our room was magnificent, the shower amazing...I mean it's the home of Kohler fixtures, it better be good...and some amazing golf at Whistling Straits.

Here are the Kohler sheep...they allow the sheep (straight from Scotland) to roam the course:)

Then later in the week we headed up to our cottage...what a view!

Here's Luke fishing off the dock

Jack watching to see if he can find the fish

Kate getting cozy with Alex

Me and Kate...can you see the resemblance? Oh yes, that's b/c she looks like Daddy just like Auntie does too!

Grandma, Jack and Luke heading out on the paddle boat

The donuts from Manderfield's...the one on the bottom left, yeah that's my favorite:)

Alex and I golfing...if you look close enough you can see Alex teeing off.

Here's the birthday boy...my nephew AJ, who just turned 3

Peek...there he is!

Kate playing some catch

AJ's newest baby brother, Jace, wearing his cute plaid outfit from Auntie

Kate's new sparkly shoes...oh la la

The Winter's: Jen, Chris, Jack, Kate and Luke

Baby Jace...I just can't get enough:)

Auntie and Jace

AJ

Getting ready to blow out the candles

AJ with mommy and daddy

Grandma and the birthday boy

A 10-Mile Race

I've been awaiting an opportunity to really push myself mentally and physically for quite some time, the problem, well if I'm honest, not enough motivation.  I've also been awaiting an opportunity to support Pancreatic Cancer.  I found my perfect chance and I'm motivated.  Why?

For those that don't know, four years ago my step-father Jim, of 12 years passed away after a courageous battle against Pancreatic Cancer.  Though my relationship with him was always touch and go through my teenage years, I was always thankful for his place in my life.  I lived with him and my mom for years and by watching them the Lord opened my eyes to what a strong and faithful marriage was, what enduring and thriving looked like, and how to be passionate about something while also maintaining the utmost integrity.  He wasn't perfect, we all are not, but in those last months of his life, my eyes were opened to all I had missed out on in my years of adolescent angst.  I treasure those months deep in my heart.

His death was the first in my life of someone who had great impact on my life and of one I loved dearly.  I want to run for him and for all those who are affected by Pancreatic Cancer.  Why?  Because, of the 40,000 that are diagnosed a year, 37,000 die that same year.  Because of cancer research and experimental trials, Jim was able to live longer and with a better quality of life.  Every May it's still sad as our family mourns his death and yet we are so thankful that he's worshiping Jesus right now.

So I'm doing it.  I'm going to run in the Medtronic 10-miler in October.  I'm running the race, not because of me, but for him.  And just so you know, I was always a sprinter not a runner, until today.  Today I ran 7 miles, nonstop, and I will be running all the way until October, when I hope to make him proud and raise support for a worthy cause.

To an amazing man and my journey on the pavement.  I'm ready to run.

Our trip to Wisconsin

The weekend before Easter my mom came over to our house in Minnesota...I love having her here. We always do fun things, like bake and walk and eat and shop. Plus she's always so helpful:) It's always a little sad when she goes home but this year I was able to go with her!! We left on Tuesday morning and headed back to Appleton because I was off of work for a week for spring break. So I was able to spend almost an entire week with my family and those three little rascals...which doesn't happen that often, or ever! Alex was set to head over on Friday for Easter weekend so I went to the doctor with the rascals, played in the yard, rode bikes, played hoops, pulled wallpaper down, shopped for my mom's house, baked...it was a busy week and oh so enjoyable. Then we celebrated Easter with the fam and Grandma and Grandpa and that was really fun! Unfortunately while I was back we found out Alex's uncle Kurt passed away. So sad:( So we made arrangements to head to Milwaukee for the wake on Easter Monday. Alex and I decided it might be fun to spend the day in Milwaukee, walking, chatting...a date day! Well who knew, Milwaukee would be 35 and windy with intermittent snow flurries. Not the day we were expecting and Saz's, the one place we wanted to go, was well, CLOSED on Mondays. Despite the gloom, we managed to have a great day complete with custard from Kopp's. Now I'm looking forward to our next chance to rediscover Milwaukee...one day:)

my second favorite place on earth

other than being with my husband and living in our little house on the lake, my second favorite place to be is back in my childhood home, surrounded by family and familiar surroundings...i feel like i am a kid again.

another thing that helps me feel like a kid are my nieces and nephews. this time around while back at my home away from home we were able to spend the day today with jack, kate and luke...arn't they adorable. at 5 they are full of energy, spunk, and tons of fun. what more could "auntie-andrea-dunner" ask for?

we spent the morning at the ymca watching jack play soccer...followed by some play time at their house and my very own private performance of kate's dance recital since we will need to miss it!

Meningitis Outbreak and my brother

Today I found out about a meningitis outbreak in my hometown of Appleton, WI.  I am saddened while rejoicing because my little brother Matt was spared.  Three of his friends from high school contracted meningitis, a disease spread through respiratory droplets aka kissing, sharing food/utensils, etc.

http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20090306/APC0101/903060472/1979

My little brother who hangs out with these kids fairly often has just begun his first golf season...why was he not there, at that house, that afternoon...because he was swinging the clubs at practice.

Coincidence, maybe...but I'm calling it sovereignty...there is a reason why Matt was spared and his friends contracted the disease.  We may never know in our lifetime the reasons why, but I'm thanking the Lord now for Matt's safety while also praying for the Lord to cure, uphold, and strengthen those kids who are suffering...pray with us!

Warehouse stores, are they worth the trouble?

VS

Yes! For our little family of two, a warehouse store pays for itself over the course of the year. Our first two years of marriage we were members at Sam's Club and have just switched over to Costco. Is there a difference? yes and no. The prices at Sam's Club are still slightly lower, but the stores are not as new and the brands are mostly generics. Costco on the other hand has more organics, and name brands. Why did we switch, location. Though we are moving back to Prior Lake and the Sam's is right down the street, it's worth the trek to Eden Prairie due to the fact that we are hoping to be back in St. Louis Park soon! What do you buy for a family of two? We tend to fill our cupboards with staples from these stores, so it is probably a good thing if you have some freezer bags and some storage space. Some things are better than others, but in the end we are saving money. Brogle Top Ten 1. Gas (Alex filled up a couple weeks ago 25 cents lower than the others) 2. Flour (25 lbs. at $6.99 vs. 5 lbs. at $2.50, 28 cents a lb. vs. 50 cents) 3. Chicken (averaging $2.99 a pound at Costco vs. $6/lb. at the regular store) 4. Ground beef (12% fat content, 6 lbs. @ $2.21/lb. vs. $4/lb. at the grocery) 5. Toilet Paper (36 rolls comparable to Charmin $19 vs. $24 for comparable amount) 6. Diswashwer Detergent (2 giant bottles (250 oz. total) $8.50 vs. $13 for generic equivalent 7. Romaine/Mixed Greens (huge bag for $4 vs. individual bags at $2/5) 8. Ziplock Bags ($7.87 for 216 vs. $25.86 for the equivalent) 9. Milk ($2.25 a gallon, cheapest otherwise is $2.99 at Walgreens) 10. Vanilla Extract (16 oz. pure vanilla for $6 vs. $5.60 for 2 oz, that's $44 for the equivalent) Other bonus buys: FRUIT, VEGETABLES, Laundry Detergent, Diapers, etc. These are just some areas we save in. Cost to join Sam's Club ($30) and Costco ($50). Not only are these things cheaper but how valuable is your time. It is so worth my time to spend an hour at Costco three times a year buying staples than it is to do it monthly or more at the grocery store. How do you budget for these items if you are on a tight budget? Well, Alex has set our budget up on Excel with a category that we save monthly for, for the quarterly trips to Costco. That way our food and staple budget will not get blown in the first week. We will be posting a generic budget form to illustrate this next week. If you are interested, let me know...I'd love to give you a tour!

Happy Birthday Chris!

(Jack, Luke, Chris, and Kate)

Today is my big brother's birthday! Happy birthday from the two of us, happy 39th! I am the youngest in the family and grew up looking up to my big brother and sister. Nearly 11 years older than me, it's been a neat experience to see our relationship grow as we got older. Not only is my big brother a great guy but he's an amazing dad to his three triplets! I just received this pic from my sister in law Jen, his wife, so I thought I would add it. Hope to see you soon!

a little holiday hello...

we have been so busy...but so blessed by friends and family:) it's been awhile since the last post, and in the past few weeks, things have been pretty normal around our house. here are some glimpses into our lives... -after thanksgiving we have been decorating the house for christmas and shopping for presents; as of today all gifts are bought...yea! -my mom was in town the first weekend of december and i hosted a table at our church's christmas luncheon...so much fun and a great kickoff to advent -work, work, work...shop, shop, shop...plan, plan, plan -this past weekend Alex and I headed back to Appleton for my family's christmas...a christmas party with all the siblings on saturday...so much fun:) i love seeing and interacting with all the family we don't see that often...all those 12 nieces and nephews have grown so big, not to mention my little brother who has now surpassed me in height and weight at age 14! saturday we spent the day with my dad and stepmom, watched rv at their house, finished up christmas shopping for my mom, and ate at Frank's pizza with baskin robbins for dessert...yum! sunday my brother chris made us a pancake breakfast and we headed back to minnesota after picking up alex's birthday present at macy's a great weekend and a great december...we can't wait for more!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! We were so blessed to have fmaily around our table and in our lives for Thanksgiving. We so enjoyed the day with Alex's side of the family for Thanksgiving. The day started out with the Macy's Day Parade on tv, an annual tradition, prepping dinner, as we hosted, and getting all the last minute things prepped. It was a great day, full of food, family, and fun:) Thanksgiving night my Dad and Teri headed in to town with my brother Matt and his friend Nick for some Thanksgiving weekend fun. It was so nice to have them in town, one because we don't get to see them as often as we would wish, and because it's always fun being around all of them. We hit up the MOA on Friday via the light rail for some post-thanksgiving shopping, the Holidazzle parade, and Fogo de Chao for dinner. According to Alex, that was the best meal he has eaten in a very long time! While we were walking to dinner a fight broke out on the other side of the street. The looks on my 14 year old brother and his friend's faces were priceless...a little different from Appleton:) We laughed at how cultured they were getting!

All in all a fabulous weekend and we have so much to be thankful for.

Things we are thankful for: -Jesus, his saving grace in our lives, though we are so undeserving, He is so gracious -Families, their presence in our lives makes life filled with joy -BBC, our church, the people we've met, the teaching -God's provision through our most difficult and stressful year of marraige -For each other, the joy Alex brings to me...amazing -The food on our table, the roof over our head, the clothes on our bodies

Oh that we would be more giving and thankful the rest of the year!

Thanks Grandpa!

Today is veteran's day...and i want to thank my favorite veteran...my grandfather.

He fought in World War II, was shot twice in the leg, hit with shrapnel and manned the bunker where the others were killed. He is brave, loving, kind, and he fought for our country and our freedoms. Thank you so much...for what you sacrificed and the job you did.

One other interesting fact, was that while Grandpa was away fighting, Grandma was "Rosie Riveter" in the factory. So they both contributed and I am thankful for them both!

Happy 60th wedding anniversary!

In late August we headed to Appleton for Labor Day. Not only did Alex and I celebrate our Anniversary early but we celebrated Grandma and Grandpa's 60th wedding anniversary with the whole family in Manitowac. It was so special to spend the day with them! They look great and are doing well at 96 and 93.

mom with her parents

alex and i with grandma and grandpa

G&G with the trips and aj

the whole fam

(from l tor: chris holding kate, alex, me, luke, grandpa, jodie, mom, aj, grandma, jack, jen)

Birthdays, Fall, and Fun!

I have been so behind on posting that I thought I would add in some pics from what we have been up to in the last couple of months now that it seems like we have all the time in the world. After our trip to Europe, Alex and I were basically working around the clock to finish the house. We would leave our house in Prior Lake around 6am and work until 8pm then head the 30 minutes back home, crash, and then do it all over again. Good thing this didn't last too long, only about 3 months. Believe me it will all be worth it. But in between all that work we actually did take some time to have a break, enjoy family and friends, and relax. Our niece Macayla celebrated her 5th birthday in September, along with my mother's 60th, and Alex's parents birthdays as well. September is a busy month with birthdays. October held the Remodeler's Showcase where 500 people went through the house. It was amazing. Also in October, my mother, sister and her son, brother and his wife and their triplets all came to visit the cities for a very full and fun-filled weekend. Also I gave Alex his first haircut...I have to say it didn't turn out too bad! So here are the pics of the happenings from July forward.

The first haircut...oh what a kitchen scissors can do:)

Lauren, looking a little concerned

Happy 5th birthday, Macayla!

Macayla and her Barbie cake, isn't Patty talented!